KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Shame
THERE'S A WORD that has been taken out of circulation since the King James version of the Bible was translated in 1611...
It can be found, among other places, in 1 Timothy 2:9, a passage instructing Christians on how they should dress: "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array" (KJV). Other translations use words like "propriety" (NKJV) and "modesty" (NASB), but I like "shamefacedness" because it is an expression of a trait that is all but extinguished from our society today.
Mark Twain once said we are the only animals that blush -- or need to. Today he might observe that we no longer blush, but we still need to. Where is the shame in this country? Fathers and mothers clothe their daughters in styles that, until a few years ago, were fit only for the basest of activities. Is anyone embarrassed? As the climate warms, Christians must resist the temptation to let culture dictate what they wear. They must dress with "shamefacedness." They must maintain their innocence and in the meantime teach the world to blush. Modesty is still important. (Drew Kizer)
KneEmail: "Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they all fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown..." Jer. 6:15